Pop Culture Archives - The Blonde Side

Bonnie-Jill Laflin – A Guy’s Girl

My LA-BFF definitely looks better in a bikini than me (Photo: Mario Barberio)

I realize it’s probably not “professional” to leave an interview with hopes of one day calling the subject your new Los Angeles BFF, but perhaps I’m not as professional as I once thought because I desperately want to refer to Bonnie-Jill Laflin as my new LA Bestie.

Yes, she’s that cool. The International sportscaster is down to earth, has a heart of gold, and according to most of the men I’ve met, she’s not bad to look at either. She’s what some would call the whole package.

At the age of 17, while still in high school, Laflin got her start as a Golden State Warriors cheerleader. “You’re supposed to be 18,” Laflin says, “but thanks to my mom, your typical pageant mom, she finagled my birth certificate (or something like that), so I was able to cheer in the NBA in high school.”

“I wanted to cheer at UT [University of Texas] and they were going to offer me a scholarship but since I had already cheered “professionally” you’re not allowed to cheer in college because you’ve already been paid, That’s one thing I wish I would have done was cheered at UT. They have such a great university – it’s ridiculous,” she says of the Longhorns.

Though she never donned the burnt orange cheer uniform, Laflin’s professional course is anything but lacking. She also spent two years on the sidelines of 49ers games, back when Jerry Rice and Steve Young were there (yes, she got a Super Bowl ring too). From there she moved on to probably the most notable cheerleading organization in the country – the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, where she even snagged the cover of the annual swimsuit calendar.

Though she was young, she knew she wanted to do more than watch from the sidelines. With determination to make sports a part of her life, she used whatever opportunities she could to meet people and build relationships. (You’d be amazed at some of the big sports names she considers actual friends…that makes my BFF offer a little weak, but I digress.)

“I just knew [cheerleading] was a way for me to get in these organizations and inside the sports world and capitalize on it. Right out of college I was able to get a job with ESPN (then Cold Pizza, now First Take), where I was a correspondent.”

Laflin, mostly known for being the first and only female scout in the NBA, is one of the most uniquely salt-of-the-earth women you’ll ever meet. Luckily it doesn’t deter her from going after the prize. “I’ve always been a go-getter, the more and more people tell me I can’t do it, the more and more I like to prove them wrong. Anytime you’re a female in a man’s world, you always have to prove people wrong,” she explains. “You’re always under a microscope, you’re always scrutinized and if you’re attractive, oh, forget about it!

“I think (attractiveness) hinders more than it helps.” She explains, “If they think you’re attractive, they automatically think we probably can’t speak, then all of a sudden you show you’re articulate and educated and you can put sentences together, and they think WOW. When I was a scout, I would see a lot of the guys who had been scouting since the dinosaur ages and all of a sudden they see me and all they’re hearing is ‘She was in Maxim‘ or ‘She used to cheer.’ If I wasn’t attractive, I don’t think they would have cared – sometimes it can hurt you, but it’s always pushed me to give more.”

Laflin admits many are still under the guise that her looks and her looks alone got her all these roles and have kept her in front of avid sports fans this whole time. “I think that happens a lot, but once people actually watch my shows, listen to my radio shows or get to know me, they start to realize “this girl actually knows more than me.” Perception is everything,” she says and something she’s battled since day one.

When asked about any career regrets, she laughs for a minute. “People always say, ‘Oh when you were in Texas you worked as a Hooters girl,’ but I think it makes you who you are. Have I made certain choices I might not have made in my thirties? I think we all do, but there’s nothing that’s been life changing I would take back. I have a lot of layers to who I am and I’m not just going to be one-dimensional because that’s what mainstream and corporate America want you to be. I feel like I’m going to be who I am,” she says with confidence.

As besties often do, we get on the subject of dating and men, and we go off record to bash men for a few minutes as well as Twitter trolls. “I could never date someone who didn’t know sports,” she says. “I know that sounds odd to certain people, because there’s more to life. I’m a total guys’ girl – I’m always the only girl. In certain situations, guys sometimes forget I’m a chick. A lot of my friends kinda forget I’m a girl because nothing offends me – they can curse, talk about the girls they’ve slept with. I’ve been around guys so much sometimes I feel like I relate better to them.”

When it comes to labeling Bonnie-Jill’s current job title, she laughs again. “I’m hard to label I guess. I live and breathe sports. I’ve always got the scouting mind – like college bowl games–I want to see how well these guys could do in the NFL. Everyone’s way into UFC, but I’m not. I’m old school – I love boxing.”

In no particular order, the wide-eyed brunette also loves horse races (she’s been to the Kentucky Derby 11 straight years and loves betting on the ponies), big sunglasses, men who open doors, big goals and bigger dreams, baseball (particularly the San Francisco Giants), her career, rescue dogs (check out her nonprofit Hounds and Heroes), fantasy sports, soldiers and heroes of all kinds, Johnny Cash (she even named her cat after him), skiing, and vegetables (she’s a vegetarian).

For now, Laflin says she’s incredibly happy and comfortable where she is in life and is in a full-court press pushing her career even farther than she once dreamed. Next on her list: to be a minority owner of the Giants.

Be sure to follow my LA BFF on Twitter. (But word to the wise before you click follow. “If you don’t like sports, animals, or the military, you probably shouldn’t follow me on social media,” Laflin says bluntly.)

This article originally ran in the sports section of CBS Man Cave Daily. Click here to see the original article (and yes, more pictures of Bonnie-Jill).

August 13, 2014/by Jayme

Athletes – The Biggest Kids You Know

Pop Culture

Strahan, host of Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards gets slimed

Athletes, no matter where they rank on the elite scale of NBA MVPs, Super Bowl Champs, Olympic Gold Medalists, X Games record-breakers and more, are a lot more like us than we think – at least off the field.

The Blonde Side was able to have a front row spot at the inaugural Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion last week, hosted by the ridiculously likeable Michael Strahan.

The first-ever awards show honored kids’ favorite athletes, the biggest teams and sports moments, incredibly slimy sports celebrations with a number of athletes in attendance including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, David Beckham, Drew Brees, Victor Cruz, Marshawn Lynch and many more.

Following on the stiletto heels of the previous nights ESPYS awards, also in Los Angeles, Nickelodeon pulled out all the stops, not only showing the athletes a great night of fun, but their little ones too. And who says kids don’t have power? It was the kids, Nickelodeon’s fiercest fans, who picked their favorite athletes from an array of 14 kid-focused categories including Favorite Male and Female Athlete, “Sickest Moves,” “King and Queen of Swag,” “Favorite Newcomer,” and “Don’t Try This at Home Award,” among others.

We stopped a handful of these playful athletes on the Orange Carpet – take a look at what they had to say about some of their favorite past-times – like their favorite cartoons and TV shows growing up and a pretty dicey question – if they could slime any athlete/team or coach, who’d they go after. Since Nickelodeon and “getting slimed” are synonymous, it just made sense.

Brandon Flowers, San Diego Chargers
Favorite show growing up: “I was a Power Rangers guy. I liked the Red Power Ranger. Lets see, what else did I like? The Rugrats. Yeah! Tommy Pickles was my boy!”
Who he’d slime: “I would slime Peyton Manning. He just gives us so many headaches and so many fits on the field I just want to get him back.”

Jennie Finch, Olympian, softball
Favorite show growing up: “Oh my gosh, I loved Alf. And Roseanne.”
With three kids of her own (18 month old, 3 year old and an 8 year old), cartoons are still very much a part of her life. Her favorite one right now? “Turtle Man – yeah it’s live action which is good – not cartoons and it’s not obnoxious but it’s good and Nickelodeon of course, I have three little ones.”
Who she’d slime: “Oh my gosh – we had a big UCLA/Arizona rivalry so UCLA would be fun – yeah probably shouldn’t say that too loud – we’re at UCLA.”

Larry Sanders, Milwaukee Bucks
Favorite show growing up: “I’d probably say all The Munsters and the original Rugrats.”
Who he’d slime: “Let’s see – who was always on me? Probably my old coach – Scott Skiles. I’d slime Coach Skiles – I think that’d cool him off a little bit.”

Marvin Jones, Cincinnati Bengals
Favorite show growing up: “I was a Boomerang guy (classic cartoon network) so I like all the classic cartoons – Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, all the Looney Tunes and stuff like that. Oh, even Scooby-Doo!”
Who he’d slime: “MJ – the great Michael Jordan. But I guess if I could slime any team…Pittsburgh Steelers or the Cleveland Browns.”

Earl Thomas, Super Bowl Champion, Seattle Seahawks
Favorite show growing up: “I liked Disney – everything that had to do with Disney. You know since my daughter has been born I’ve been on a lot of cartoons. My favorite is…what’s it called? (starts singing) Let it go, let it go…you know that song? Frozen, right? She’s one and she watches it everyday – we sing it together.”
Who he’d slime: (laughing) “I would slime Russell Wilson because…uh, nobody has anything bad to say about him so he needs to get slimed – he needs some drama in his life.”

Tom Schaar, X-Games Big Air Gold Medalist (youngest to ever win: 14 yrs old!)
Since you’re still kind of young, let’s go a different route – who’s the oldest athlete you can think of? “Here? Ummmm – Phil Mickelson?”
Do you still watch cartoons? “No. But yeah I have seen Frozen – I was forced by my mom, it wasn’t that bad.”
Who he’d slime: “Probably Kobe, just to say I’ve slimed Kobe. “

Nastia Liukin, Olympian, gymnastics
Favorite show growing up: “Rugrats. Yeah I loved Rugrats. Angelica was the little diva of the group.”
Do you consider yourself a diva Nastia? “Secretly nobody can really know that but yes I have a little diva in me.”
Who she’d slime: “That’s a tough one. I’m here today with Subway and Apolo Ohno, so I’d probably slime him because he was late and I was on time so yeah I’d definitely slime him!”

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
Favorite show growing up: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles probably.”
Who he’d slime: I’d slime Chris Carter.
Fitzgerald walked the Orange Carpet with his son Devin (5 yrs old) so we asked Devin his favorite cartoon: “Curious George”

Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder
Favorite show growing up: “Tom & Jerry.”
Who he’d slime: “Blake Griffin for fun.”

Antonio Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals
Favorite show growing up: “Hmmm…Rugrats, Doug, and Real Monsters. Wait what’s that called? Aaahh!!! Real Monsters – that’s a good show. Oh, and Ren and Stimpy!”
Who he’d slime: “I would slime Richard Sherman for fun, definitely for fun!”

Jasmine Fenlator, Olympian, bobsled
Favorite show growing up: “I went through stages with cartoons, but do you remember Fraggal Rock? It wasn’t necessarily a cartoon but it kind of was. Oh I loved it! Fraggle Rock was my joint. And when it comes to Nickelodeon I loved Doug for some reason that whistle…” (imitates show tune whistle)
Who she’d slime: “I think I would slime Ochocinco because it’s not that I don’t like you – you’re a really great athlete and I highly respect you but you talk so much junk on some of us sprinters and bobsledders – until you walk on those spikes buddy I’ma slime you!” (laughs)

Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers
Favorite show growing up: “That’s a tough one – Alvin & the Chipmunks or Duck Tales.”
Who he’d slime: “I’d slime Mike Brown – yes for fun, always love and fun.”

Chandler Parsons, Dallas Mavericks
Favorite show growing up: “Hey, Arnold! for sure. That was definitely my jam.”
Who he’d slime: “I would go DeMarcus Cousins. He’s testy on the court – got a little attitude.”
You know he’s just right over there (as I point down the Orange Carpet) – if you could slime him here, would you?
Parsons: “One hundred percent. I’d do it and then run really really fast.”
Think you could outrun him?
Parsons: “For sure.”

Tyson Chandler, Dallas Mavericks
Favorite show growing up: “Saved By the Bell.”
Who he’d slime: “No one.”

Nate Robinson, Denver Nuggets
Favorite show growing up: “So many! I was a big time Hey, Arnold! fan.Hey, Arnold!was my thing. Um – Rocko’s Modern Life, who else, Real Monsters, I could keep going on.”
Who he’d slime: “For fun – whoa – any athlete for fun? I’m definitely sliming Dieon Sanders – just for fun, he’s been my favorite athlete forever, and Michael Jordan.”
Nate’s nine-year old son Nahmier also walked alongside him on the Orange Carpet so we asked him who the oldest athlete he could think of was.
Nate’s encouragement: Think, think about it…”
Nahmier: “Who’s that guy – #21 from the Spurs? Tim Duncan!”
Nate: “See I didn’t even have to tell you – you know what’s up!”

This article originally ran in the sports section of CBS Man Cave Daily. Click here to see the original piece and more photos.

July 19, 2014/by Jayme

ESPYS Red Carpet Superstitions

Pop Culture

Laila Ali on the 2014 ESPYS Red Carpet (Photo by Rich Arden / ESPN Images)

*The full piece ran on Women’s Health. Click here to read more.

Sure, everyone has strange habits. But when a sports competition is your job, it makes sense that you might take your superstitions to the next level. So, we caught up with the athletes below at the 2014 ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) earlier this week to ask if they have any superstitions for before a competition. The answer? Ohhh, yes, they do:

“Oh my gosh, Where do I begin? My roommate and I started this perfume thing before we left our hotel room, where we’d always spray it. At the field, I always place my bag in the far end of the corner—us pitchers are kind of known for crazy routines. I would always head out to the bullpen 27 minutes prior to game time because 27 was my number—that was part of my routine.” —Jennie Finch, Olympic softball gold medalist

“Before every game, I gotta eat a peanut butter and jelly, and I gotta pray. Gotta talk to my man upstairs.” —DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings center

“My boyfriend has to wear lucky socks (when I compete). It’s so funny. All the heats that I’ve lost this year so far, he hasn’t been wearing the socks—so it’s pretty much his fault when I lose! Today I actually went to Top Shop and bought some really cool pink dinosaur socks. They don’t have to be pink, they just looked like they had a lot of magic in them so I bought them.” —Carissa Moore, professional surfer and two-time Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) women’s world champion

“I have to shave my whole body, anytime I’m playing a football game. It does kinda make me feel fast like my hometown boy Michael Phelps. … We call it a manzillian.” —Brendon Ayanbadejo, Baltimore Ravens linebacker and SuperBowl XLVII champion (retired)

“I try to break all superstitions. I have to have my hair slicked back just because I’m jumping over hurdles. I hate it if hair is in my face, so a lot of times I carry a brush. And there’s been times where I’ve literally been, like, on the Olympic start line and one of the last things I do before I get on the box is brush my hair. People are probably thinking, ‘She’s so vain,’ but I get so annoyed if I see one flyaway. I guess that’s a superstition, but I think it’s more performance enhancement than anything else.” —Lolo Jones, Olympic bobsled and track and field athlete

“Before a big competition, I have to wear red boxers. They don’t have to be the same ones, as long as they are red. I think I won a couple contests in a row wearing them and then I was like, might as well keep this going.” —Nyjah Huston, professional skateboarder and 2014 ESPY winner for Best Male Action Sports Athlete

“I would have to say I listen to the same song before all my competitions, (by) Ghostland Observatory. It gives me that beat, and every time before I drop in, I make sure that one song is the one that’s playing. I did it this whole season, and I plan to carry it on. It used to be Shakira’s ‘She Wolf,’ but I moved on.” —Kaitlyn Farrington, Olympic gold medalist in the snowboarding halfpipe

“I just talk to my mom every day before a game, right before I go on the field. I’ve been doing that since I was like eight years old. I call her. We don’t talk about anything specific, that’s just what we do—not necessarily a pep talk but just real talk, you know what I mean? My mom always says, ‘Live for the day. You are where you are for a reason, and believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.’ Every time we go on the field, we warm up, we come in, do our team prayer, then we got two minutes before we go back out on the field, and I call her.” —Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars tight end

“When I’m warming up, if I miss something, it messes up the whole day. So it’s just like, if I’m stretching and I miss a stretch or do it out of order, I just feel like, ‘OK, the first quarter is going to be bad for me just ’cause I missed this.’ It’s not something you can go back and fix, you just try to add it in afterwards.” —Antonio Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals cornerback

“I don’t really have any superstitions, but my ritual is just to always get really focused and remember all of my hard work. I say my prayers and pray for the other girl that I don’t seriously hurt her. Because I’m trying to hurt her but I don’t want any permanent brain damage or things like that. I want to take her right to the limit, kickin’ that ass, right before anything permanent happens.” —Laila Ali, retired professional boxer and undefeated Super Middleweight Boxing Champion of the world

The full article ran on Women’s Health. Click here to read it in its entirety!

July 18, 2014/by Jayme

Country Strong Contenders

Pop Culture

Photoshop amazingness courtesy of @rememberthe1

Living in Texas, or I suppose anywhere in the South, country music just comes with the territory, if not the whole being of one’s soul. Odds are you exited your mother’s womb with either Garth Brooks or George Strait playing in the hospital room and an obnoxiously bedazzled belt buckle wrapped around your tiny little umbilical cord and it’s been honky-tonk sailing ever since, yes?

With my intensely opinionated sport’s column, The Blonde Side, part of what I take great pride in is finding hilarious and sometimes witty parallels of athletes to some variation of useless pop culture – this time country music shall be my muse.

It wasn’t long ago I compared NFL QBs to the cast of Jersey Shore, so why not take two staples in my everyday life and see what we come up with.

Below is my list of country music song titles and a pretty damn good comparison to an athlete or well-known sport’s story. I’m sure there are better options, so leave a comment if I missed a glaringly obvious parallel.

Ty Herndon – “I Can’t Do It All” – I think Giselle was heard singing this to Tom when he came out of the locker room.

James Otto – “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” – Chris Paul briefly started signing this to the Lakers before he changed his tune to Travis Tritt’s “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive” after signing that 4-year/$68mil deal with that other Los Angeles team.

George Strait – “I Saw God Today” – Tim Tebow. ‘Nuff said.

Joe Nichols – “The Shape I’m In” – Perhaps the tag team duo of Cecil and Prince Fielder?

Miranda Lambert – “Gunpowder & Lead” – *sigh* Must we talk about Plaxico Burress again?

Blake Shelton – “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” – “… if I had kept it in my pants.” Take your pick: Tiger or Kobe?

Rascal Flatts – “God Bless The Broken Road” – Remember the craziness of Michael Jordan getting cut from his high school basketball team? Look at him now with shoes people kill for. Literally.

Darius Rucker – “Comeback Song” – Drew Brees stating his case for MVP in second half of the season. Although it was enough for Hootie, it wasn’t quite enough for Drew.

Miranda Lambert – “White Liar” – The entire coaching staff at Penn State (ouch, too soon?)

Eli Young Band – “Crazy Girl” – Chris Chambers from the Chargers who actually married his stalker. Chambers in 2009: “Judge, that girl is CRAZY!” Chris Chambers in 2010: “Judge, that girl is my WIFE!” Who’s crazy now I ask you?

Sunny Sweeney – “Staying’s Worse Than Leaving” – Might be Steven Jackson’s anthem when his contract is up in 2014. To date: eight seasons, three Pro Bowls, 9,000 yards, Z-E-R-O playoff games. You decide.

Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Beddingfield – “It’s Easy” – Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in the ring. Out of the ring? (Insert any other bad country song here)

Jason Aldean – “Tattoos On This Town” – None other than the Birdman, Chris Anderson.

Scotty McCreery – “The Trouble With Girls” – Chris Bosh. Poor guy.

Faith Hill – “Come Home” – All of Cleveland singing to LeBron during the draft and again right before The Decision. Cleveland fans quickly changed their tune.

Jake Owen – “Alone With You” – The song you don’t want to hear if you’re in a hotel room with Kobe

Billy Currington – “Pretty Good At Drinking Beer” – As Gronk so clearly displayed for us drowning his sorrows on the dance floor after the Super Bowl loss

Martina McBride – “I’m Going To Love You Through It” – Kobe’s wife after the hotel scandal (oops, can you tell I started this list before the $75mil deal went through?)

Alan Jackson – “Long Way To Go” – The theme song for the Dallas Cowboys the last 15 years

Craig Morgan – “This Ole Boy” – Simply change “ole” to “old” and “boy” to “boys” and you’ve got the Boston Celtics

Steve Holy – “Love Don’t Run” – And neither does Yao Ming.

Lady Antebellum – “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” – Terrell Owens on every team he leaves. Soon he’ll be hearing this from the Indoor Football League from the team he actually owns!

George Strait – “Give It Away” – Kyle Williams in his recent playoff loss to the NY Giants

Chris Young – “Voices” – Mike Tyson and his crazy antics.

Billy Currington – “Like My Dog” – The obvious choice, Mike Vick.

Rascal Flatts – “I Won’t Let Go” – Brett Favre, you were cool and set a lot of records, but move along with retirement once and for all please.

Randy Rogers Band – “Lost and Found” – Wilson Ramos.

Carrie Underwood – “Change My Last Name” – A tie between Ocho Cinco (formerly Chad Johnson) and Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest).

Darius Rucker – “If I Had Wings” – My sweet little Muggsy Bogues coming in at 5ft 3in. Even without said wings, he was a doozie of a point guard.

Brooks and Dunn – “That Ain’t No Way To Go” – The country duo chastises LeBron and The Decision.

Tim McGraw – “Better Than I Used To Be” – Even at sixty, Shaq shoots better free throws now than he did as a member of the Orlando Magic.

Taylor Swift – “Fifteen” – Although she was 17, not 15, you gotta give this one to Giants superstar and hall of famer, Lawrence Taylor.

Big thanks to @rememberthe1 for the awesome graphic you see above. You can also follow The Blonde Side on Twitter @jaymelamm.

March 29, 2012/by Jayme